Accessing Intuition

PRACTICAL
GUIDANCE

by Shakti Gawain

Many of us are aware of
spontaneously having intuitive "flashes" from time to time. As
you read this article, you may become aware that you have intuitive
feelings more often than you realized, and that you have discounted many
of them without knowing it.

The truth is, our
intuitive wisdom is always there inside of us and it is always trying to
come through to guide us. Most of us simply don't know how to access it at
will on a regular basis. Fortunately we can learn to do exactly that.

Here is a basic
meditation for getting in touch with your intuitive guidance. I have used
this meditation myself for about twenty years, and have taught thousands
of people to access their intuition through this practice.

Inner Guidance Meditation

Find a quiet, peaceful
place where you will be undisturbed for a few minutes. Sit or lie down in
a comfortable position with your spine straight and well supported. Close
your eyes.

Take a deep breath, and
as you exhale slowly, relax your body. Take another deep breath and as you
exhale, relax your body a little more. Take another deep breath and as you
exhale, relax your body as deeply and completely as you can. If any place
in your body feels tight or tense, gently breathe into that area and allow
it to release and relax.

Now take another deep
breath and as you exhale, relax your mind. Let your thoughts just drift
away. As each new thought comes up in your mind, let it go. There is no
need to hold onto any thought. Just keep letting them go and bringing your
attention back to breathing slowly and deeply and relaxing.

Take another deep
breath and as you exhale, imagine that you can move your awareness out of
your mind, out of your head, and drop it slowly down into your body. Let
it rest in the area of your solar plexus or your belly.

Now take another deep
breath, and as you exhale, let your awareness move into a very deep quiet
place within. With every breath as you exhale, move a little deeper and a
little deeper until you come to rest in the deepest, quietest place you
can find. Then just let yourself rest in this quiet place inside.

In this quiet place
inside, you naturally have access to your intuitive inner guidance. You
could think of it as a wise part of you that lives in this deep place
within you. It knows exactly what you need at every moment.

Ask yourself in this
deep place, "What do I most need to remember or be aware of right
now?"

After you ask this
question, just rest quietly and be open to what might come. Notice if a
thought, a feeling, or an image comes to you in response to this question.
Just take whatever comes and be with it for a little while. It's not
necessary to understand it. Just be with it in a receptive way.

You may feel like you
are "making something up." If so, that's okay - and it's always
interesting to note what you have chosen to "make up" at that
moment. Just allow whatever is happening to happen.

You may feel that
nothing is happening, or that you get nothing. That's okay too. Don't try
to make something happen. Trying gets in the way of the process. If
nothing is coming right now, just accept that.

If you have received
some thought, feeling, and/or image, allow yourself to sit with it a
little bit. When you feel complete with the process for now, begin to
notice your breath again. Notice how your body is feeling and become aware
of your surroundings. When you are ready, you can open your eyes.

If you wish, you can
write down whatever you experienced or whatever "message" you
received. Otherwise, just contemplate your experience a bit before you go
about any other activities.

This is an excellent
exercise to do in the morning before you start your day, or at night
before you go to sleep. If possible, do it at least once a day for a
while; twice a day is even better. If you can't manage that, try for once
or twice a week. Once you get used to it, you can easily do this exercise
in five to ten minutes.

In this meditation I
used a very general question "What do I most need to remember or be
aware of right now?" I have found that this question works well for
many people to open to whatever their intuition may wish to communicate.
You can use any question that works for you, however, including more
specific ones such as, "What direction do I need to go right
now?" or "Show me my next step," or "How do I need to
take care of myself?" or even "Should I take the job I've been
offered?"

After you have done
this meditation, pause occasionally throughout the day and notice what's
going on inside of you. Over the next few days, try to be aware of any
thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to the question you have
asked. Practice following any intuitive impulses you have, and notice how
things work out.

People have different
kinds of experiences with this exercise. Many people find that a thought,
feeling, and/or image comes to them during the meditation that is clearly
relevant and immediately helpful. The more you practice this exercise, the
more likely it is that you will receive clear, simple messages that you
can easily interpret and understand.

As I mentioned, some
people get a response but feel like they are "making it up"
rather than experiencing it as "coming to them." My feeling is
that it's best to trust whatever is happening, as long as it basically
feels right to you. Worrying about whether you are doing it right blocks
the process; trusting your own experience opens up the process. So if you
feel like you are making something up, just go ahead and do it. Chances
are that whatever you "make up" will be relevant.

I recently did this
exercise with a group and here are a few examples of "messages"
that came to the participants:

One woman
received the message "Have more fun!" She saw an image of riding
on a carousel followed by an image of swimming in the warm ocean in Mexico
at night. These are both fun, physically enjoyable, sensuous experiences not
involving the mind. This woman is a very mental person. She felt that her
intuition was showing her that she needs to enjoy her physical body more.

One woman saw a
sign in big letters saying HEALTH. She
was dealing with some health issues and interpreted this as a reminder to
focus her attention on her health.

A man had an
image of sitting on a warm beach by the ocean. The feeling was
"Everything is okay."

Another woman
heard the words "Trust, not fear."
She interpreted this as a message not to worry, to relax and trust her own
process.

A woman had an
image of a large brown bear with quiet strength, so powerful that he
doesn't need to be aggressive. This
is a frequent image for this woman, representing her personal power that
she's learning to own. This time the bear was excited and happy, almost
dancing, because the woman has had a recent breakthrough where she was
able to stay with her own power in a difficult situation.

For one man these
words came: "Love is the answer." This
man had recently had a very upsetting experience and was feeling very
angry. He felt this was a reminder not to polarize too far into anger and
remember the power of forgiveness.

One man had an
image of himself in a meadow with a powerful woman he respects. She was on
a horse and dressed in a warrior/goddess costume. He was bowing
reverentially to her. She said to him, "Don't give your power away.
Don't be so adoring! You are my knight!" He
felt this related to a pattern he has of giving his own power away to
women. The woman in the image represented his powerful inner feminine
side.

One woman, who is
usually very visual, just had a peaceful feeling inside.

Some people receive a
message that is unclear or difficult to understand or interpret. Don't
worry about trying to understand it logically. Like our dreams, the images
or feelings that come to us are often working on a level below the
conscious mind. Don't obsess about the meaning of it. Let it go and assume
that it's working on a deeper level. Sometimes the meaning will come clear
later, in some spontaneous way.

For example, a
participant in one of my workshops got an image of a bright red-hot
burning fire one day during this meditation. She had no idea what it
meant. A couple of days later she woke with the realization that she was
carrying a lot of anger that she needed to express and work with. Her
intuition was letting her know the next step in her healing process. Of
course, the same image might have a totally different meaning for someone
else.

Even if you never get a
conscious understanding of an intuitive message, don't be concerned. If
it's important, it will come to you again, one way or another.

If you feel that you
didn't get any type of feeling, thought, or image in response to your
question during the meditation, that's not a cause for concern either.
Here are two possible reasons:

1.If you are new to all this, or this is the first time you've tried
this exercise, it may take a little time and practice before you feel
relaxed and open enough to trust your experience.

2.Even for the most experienced and highly intuitively developed
people, the message we need to hear often does not come at the moment that
we ask. There is often a "delayed response." We ask inside for
some type of intuitive guidance and we get nothing in the moment. However,
a few hours or a few days later, we may get a spontaneous awareness,
thought, or feeling, that is really the answer to the question we had
asked.

Another very
interesting thing is that our intuition may respond to our request
internally, in all the ways I have been describing, but we are just as
likely to receive a response from what seems like an external source.

For example, you may
ask for an intuitive message in your meditation one morning, but not
receive any information. That evening as you walk home from work you may
have the impulse to go into a bookstore. When you walk into the bookstore
you may find that you are drawn to a certain table of books. You pick up
one of the books, open it randomly and read a paragraph. Suddenly you
realize that you are reading exactly what you need to hear at this moment
in your life. In fact, this is the answer to the question you had asked
that morning (although very often in these situations we forget that we
had asked for exactly this piece of information).

Here's another example
of how this can happen. You have a sudden impulse to call a friend you
haven't heard from in a long time. In the course of the conversation your
friend says something that has an impact, and helps you see a step that
you need to take in your life. At some point you realize that you've been
asking your inner guidance for clarity of direction and you've just
received it.

Of course in these
examples, it looks like the wisdom came from outside of you. But where did
the impulse come from to walk into that bookstore and pick up that book?
What made you call that friend? Something from within you prompted you to
take those actions. Intuition is always trying to lead us in the direction
we need to go, and it will use any method it can to help us.

Handling Special Problems

If you work with this
meditation a while and don't feel that you are getting any stronger sense
of connection with your intuition, here are some further suggestions that
may help you.

You may be trying too
hard to make something happen instead of simply allowing it to happen. You may be making the process into a bigger
deal than it really is. Relax and let go. Stop trying to make anything
amazing happen. Just listen a little more deeply than usual for your own
sense of truth.

Try not to get caught
up in needing to have an immediate answer. Life is an ongoing, unfolding
process, and you may not be ready yet for a decision or a definite
direction. You may be "in process." Inner guidance seldom gives
us long-term information; it usually just lets us know what we need in the
moment. Sometimes, inner guidance may be saying, "Just wait, don't do
anything, allow yourself to be in confusion." When clarity is meant
to come, it will.

If you feel really
blocked for a long period of time, you probably need to do some emotional
healing work. When we are holding our emotions inside us, it can be
difficult or even impossible to contact our intuitive feelings. If you
feel you may be having difficulties of this kind, find a good therapist or
support group and begin the process of learning to experience and express
your emotions. Once you've done a certain amount of deep emotional
healing, you will automatically be more in touch with your intuition.

Checking In on a Regular Basis

Once you have a little
practice in relaxing, going inside, asking for an intuitive message, and
paying attention to what comes to you either then or later, you can begin
to integrate the process more naturally into your daily life.

In the middle of a busy
day you may not have time to sit down and do a deep meditation. However
you can learn to "check in" with your intuition on a regular
basis throughout the day.

In order to do this,
you need to develop the habit of pausing every now and then and taking a
moment to notice what is going on inside of you.

Here is a quick, simple
exercise that can help you touch in to your intuition even in the midst of
a lot of activity. You can do this at your desk, or in a parked car
briefly before or after you drive somewhere.

One excellent way to
ensure a moment of quiet and privacy is to go into the bathroom to do this
exercise. Of course, it's even better if you can take a minute to walk or
sit outdoors; however, don't wait for that time if it is not going to
happen easily. Just do it whenever and wherever you can.

Quick Intuitive Check In Meditation

Close your eyes and
take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Notice what's on your mind, what
you've been thinking about. Notice how your body is feeling right now. How
are you feeling emotionally? Do you feel like you are more or less
"in the flow," following your own energy, or do you feel
stressed, conflicted, out of sorts?

Take another deep
breath, exhale slowly and let your awareness move into a deep place
inside. Is there anything you need to pay attention to that would help you
feel more connected to yourself? Any gut feeling you need to be aware of?
Whether or not you get any specific information or awareness, enjoy a
moment of rest before you carry on.

It doesn't matter too
much what happens for you when you do this exercise. Just the fact that
you are taking a moment to be with yourself and tune in on a deeper level
will be very healing, and chances are that it will help you get more into
the present moment. The more present and connected with ourselves we are,
the more likely we are to notice and follow our intuitive feelings, and
the more effective we are likely to be in whatever we do.

To assist you in
remembering to do this exercise, you can put little reminders where you
are likely to see them around your work area and your home. A reminder can
take the form of a little note to yourself, a poem, a picture, or an
object that symbolizes or conveys to you a feeling of connecting to your
intuition. You may want to put your reminders in different places every
now and then, so that the reminders remain fresh and new and don't get
overlooked and begin to blend into their surroundings.

Remember that our
intuitive wisdom is always there inside of us and available. We may not
always be able to access it, usually because we are too caught up in our
activities, our minds, or our emotions. That's okay; it's just part of the
cycles that we go through.

If you do this exercise
or anything similar to it often, you will begin to build a relationship
with your intuitive self and it will come through to you more and more
frequently and clearly.

If we can develop the
habit of checking our intuitive messages at least as often as most of us
check our telephone messages, we'll be in great shape!

Applying the Intuitive Check In

You can apply the
intuitive check in to many situations. Here's an example.

A few days ago
one of my clients was driving to work and she got a flat tire. Her first
impulse was to call her husband to come rescue her, but something inside
her said, "Pause a moment, help is right there." She listened to
this feeling, paused for a moment, observed her surroundings and within
minutes was approached by a young couple willing and able to help her.
Within twenty minutes she was on her way again.

If we can get into the
habit of pausing, checking in with our inner guidance, we will often find
answers to many of our questions, throughout the day.